Capt'n Groovy's RetroMania II

Hey everyone. I just had the most incredible weekend. The 70's cover band I play with, Capt'n Groovy, just did a dance the Saturday before Easter. We played at a banquet hall just outside of LaSalle called Celebrations. We had an opening band called The Crowd who played right before us. They did a very good job playing and getting the audience ready. Then we took the stage, and what followed was the most awesome 3 hours I've lived in a long time.

It's hard to put into words sometimes what playing music with talented musicians in front of an enthusiastic audience is like. We've played the song sets numerous times; sometimes we play the song perfectly, sometimes one of us makes a mistake. But practicing a song and performing a song are two different things. An audience gives you an adrenaline rush that is probably similar to what mountain climbers probably get.

But when everything is said and done, I have another emotional response. I got done playing and I thought about what we had just done as a group. The level of excellence we all strived for was what we achieved on pretty much every song. We might have had a few detail glitches, but we achieved the overall effect we were shooting for. And the thought of how successful we had been left me with this thought. "There is only 15 other people in this world right now who can claim to have been a part of what I've participated in." Capt'n Groovy as group stood alone that night for what we had accomplished as a band. I cannot think of a moment when I was prouder, not just proud of myself and my abilities, but also proud of the other members of the group and what each person had done.

I'm probably not making much sense, but I just want to say to anyone reading this, including the members of Capt'n Groovy, that this band and the people in it have a special place in my heart. You have given me one of my fondest memories that I will cherish probably until my dying day. I cannot think of anywhere else I would have rather been that night than on stage with all of you. I can only hope I was able to contribute to a sense of accomplishment and musical satisfaction within you that is similar to what you have given me. I love you all.

What's your favorite tune?

I was just sitting around thinking one day. It seems like everyone has a favorite song, no matter the genre. Rock fans each have their favorite, country fans have their favorite, rap fans have theirs, hip-hop fans have theirs. This got me to thinking, "What's my favorite jazz tune?"

I set the following criteria: since jazz is such a rich world of arrangements, my favorite tune had to be one I would listen to no matter the arrangement or artist. Whether or not said artist or group plays the tune well is secondary. That being said, my favorite jazz tune is:

Mack the Knife

This tune swings like crazy no matter how many times I've played it myself in various groups or listened to it from various singers. It's a simple melody and the modulation by half step adds even more excitement. By far, the most fun arrangement for me to listen to is Ella Fitzgerald's rendition from her Live in Berlin album. Some would say that doesn't count as a full rendition since she loses the lyrics after three choruses. But she plunges ahead, improvising new lyrics, still seeming to enjoy the tune and the creative singing process.

So, what's your favorite tune? Which song will you listen to no matter which group is playing?

Diminshed Whole Tone?

I have a problem and I need your help. This is a jazz theory problem that involves a chord scale relationship. I have a few Aebersold play-along books and they all have the following chord at some point:




Now, I have no problem with understanding the chord itself, that's the easy part. It's the next part that is confusing me. Aebersold goes on to say that the scale that is best used for this chord is the diminished whole tone scale. This scale not only has a #9, it also has a b9, #4, and #5, so the scale looks like this:



How did he come up with that? No explanation is given; I have found no theoretical reason as to why the scale has the additional altered tones. Could someone please help me understand this? If you've never used the scale in context, it's a great scale. There's a lot of tension and resolution possibilities, I just want to know why and how this scale came to be. Who decided and for what reason that the scale for a c7+9 chord has a b9, #4, and #5? Help me understand this.